The present invention relates to nanotechnology, and more specifically, to carbon nanotube structures.
Nanomaterials are materials that have nanoscale dimensions. Individual repeating units of nanomaterials may be between 1 and 1,000 nanometers (nm) (10−9 meter), or between 1 and 100 nm, in at least one dimension. Nanomaterials may be natural, synthetic, or semi-synthetic. One example of natural functional nanomaterials in biological systems includes the protein capsids of viruses. Natural inorganic nanomaterials can occur through crystal growth in the diverse chemical conditions of the earth's crust.
Carbon-containing tubes or spheres can be used to form synthetic nanomaterials. The fullerenes are a class of allotropes of carbon that form sheets of graphene that are rolled into tubes or spheres. These carbon nanotubes have favorable electrical properties and mechanical strength.
Various synthetic nanomaterials have unique optical, electronic, and mechanical properties. Because of the unique properties of nanoscale materials, the emergence of a variety of nanoscale materials has generated enormous interest from the research community over the last 20 years.